My favorite experience is Pok�mon Crater. 1st Gen was the classic, a thing every kid should experience early. I don't care if it's outdated yo. You gotta start with the basics.

But the real fav was 2nd Generation- same world graphics, same interfaces, but the boundaries were being slightly pushed with sprites, story lines, new item functions. It was a perfection of the original formula.

The only downside was that the cartridge batteries (non-emulator, lol) die after 10 years, and you probably lose all your data if you haven't saved a backup somewhere. But if you have a soldering iron, you can just swap the original batteries for higher end ones and easily double that lifespan. Did it on a Gold, Silver, & Crystal for me and my GF.

One thing I really appreciate is the fact that the older designs allow for a more imagined world. The newest stuff is all fleshed out, and just doesn't fullfill the real potential of a Pokemon world. If I had half a billion dollars, I would no joke infringe on Nintendo's copyright and create an illegal and grim Pokemon RPG/small MMO.